Packed stadium, masked priests as Tanzania holds first Magufuli 'funeral'

Tanzanians from all walks of life packed the Uhuru Stadium in the main city of Dar es Salaam where the first public viewing of late president John Joseph Pombe Magufuli took place today, March 20.

The 61-year-old dies from heart complications according to a televised statement on March 17 delivered by his then deputy and now substantive president Samia Suluhu Hassan.

The new president led mourners in paying their last respects to her predecessor.

An AFP report noted that emotional mourners lined the streets to wave at the casket of the late president, some of them weeping and throwing flower petals as the casket, towed on a gun carriage by a military vehicle.

It was transferred from a church to Uhuru Stadium to lie in state. "Before I saw the coffin, I didn't believe our president was really dead," said flower-seller Pauline Attony after watching the motorcade pass.

President Hassan led a government procession filing past the coffin, which was draped in the Tanzanian flag, offering her condolences to Magufuli's wife.

Many wore black, or the green and yellow colours of the ruling party, but few inside the stadium or among the packed crowds outside wore face masks in a country that has become notorious for (mis) handling the pandemic fight.

As a staunch Catholic, the church was very prominent in the occasion - from the church program to the stadium. All clergy who were at the stadium were masked as they underwent their routines.



"It is too soon for you to go, father. You touched our lives and we still needed you," said one mourner, Beatrice Edward. "We lost our defender," said another, Suleiman Mbonde, a tradesman.

There are two other public viewings before final burial in Magufuli's hometown of Chato next Friday. 21 days of mourning continues across the country according to a presidential directive.